During today's It's Show TimeApple Event, the company announced Apple Card, a brand new credit card that promises to change the way consumers work with credit cards. Apple says it is focusing on simple, instant applications, no fees ever, lower interest rates, and better rewards. In order to sign up, users use the Apple Wallet app in the iPhone, and instantly upon approval they get a digital card that is ready to use in their wallet. You'll be able to track purchases, check balances, make payments, and more right from the app.

As for bonuses, Apple is introducing Daily Cash. You get 3% cash back when buying from Apple (including Apple Store, App Store, etc.,) 2% cash back when you use your Apple Card through Apple Pay, and 1% cash back when you use your physical card (and by the way, the physical Apple Card is forged from titanium!) Daily Cash is instantly accessible to be used for whatever you'd like - pay your balance, buy apps, send the cash to friends, spend it, etc.

Focusing on privacy, “Apple doesn’t know what you bought, where you bought it, and how much you paid for it,” says Jennifer Bailey, VP of Apple Pay. All the spending tracking and other information is stored directly on the device, not Apple’s servers. Apple also says “Goldman Sachs will never sell your data to third parties for marketing and advertising,” either.

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During today's It's Show TimeApple Event, the company unveiled Apple News+, an all-you-can-eat subscription news service that gives you unlimited access to newspapers and magazines. Apple News+ is found within the Apple News app itself, which ships on all iOS and macOS devices. Some of the notable inclusions in Apple News+ are the LA Times, Wall Street Journal, Wired magazine, Bazaar, InStyle, Sports Illustrated, and more. In all, there are over 300 magazines that will be available with a single subscription.

As Apple noted on stage, none of the publications get your personal information. Privacy is paramount, and even Apple doesn't know which magazines or articles you choose to read.

Apple News+ will cost $9.99 per month, and in a great move, it is available for families for no extra charge which means that same $10 allows you and up to 5 other family members to access the service. You can access Apple News+ starting today, and the first month is free.

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Check out my Serena Shades by Lutron review - these are smart shades for smart homes that have been installed here in my home, and in this episode of Geared Up I bring you my thoughts. I use Serena Shades HomeKit integration for controlling them in my home, but there is also Serena Shades Alexa integration, along with Google Assistant, making them very versatile. Head to 16:15 in the video for the full rundown!

Also, Apple is getting ready to launch new services - a video streaming service that will compete with Netflix, Amazon Video, HBO Now, and Hulu is one, and the other is a news subscription service that will give you access to a bunch of newspapers and magazines for one monthly fee. The Apple event takes place on March 25th, and we talk about what we expect to see and how it'll change the industry.

In this episode of Geared Up, Andru Edwards and Starla Sampaco discuss the FaceTime bug that allowed iPhone users to eavesdrop on the person they called, reports of a new gaming subscription service from Apple, the minimalist phone trend, signs of new iPads and a seventh-generation iPod touch, and a foldable phone from Samsung. Plus, if you're doing some last-minute TV shopping ahead of Super Bowl Sunday, Andru has some recommendations for you.

Listen to the episode in the player below or subscribe to Geared Up in your favorite podcast app to listen on the go:

As part of CES 2019, I spent a lot of time with Panasonic (they were one of our sponsors this year,) checking out a bunch of their current and future tech innovations. We shot a video that teased the top 5 tech that we were going to be exploring in the booth, (don't miss the Harley Davidson electric motorcycle!) Here's the breakdown:

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Simply hover over the image above to click-through to purchase either movie!

If you're looking for a couple of great movies to put under the tree or into a stocking this holiday season, Sony Pictures is releasing two of its most recent blockbusters on Blu-ray and DVD just in time. You can pick up The Equalizer 2, which sees Denzel Washington reprise one of his signature roles (and acting in the first sequel he's ever done!) right now at Walmart, while Venom will be released on December 18th, one week before Christmas (but you can pre-order it at Walmart as well!)

I'm a big fan of movies that are centered around comic book characters, and when Sony sent over copies of each, I fired up Venom right away for a fun movie night with the fam. If you haven't heard, Venom is the story of journalist Eddie Brock and his attempt to bring down Carlton Drake. Drake is the mastermind behind the Life Foundation, which Brock discovers is using symbiotic lifeforms that require oxygen-breathing hosts to survive and thrive. Brock accidentally comes into contact with a symbiote, and thus begins his transformation into the superhuman title character, Venom, who tries to control Brock's new abilities.

The Vizio E-Series is a budget-priced television set, but don’t let the great price fool you. The E-Series has one of the displays in terms of image quality that you’ll find for the money, thanks in large part to the local dimming (which you typically have to pay a lot more money for.) Let’s dive into the features and design of the Vizio E-Series to see if it’s worth your attention.

There've been a lot of options for toy drones over the years, and you may think that they're all pretty much the same. At first glance, that's understandable since they typically lack the premium features you find on more prosumer level drones, like 4K cameras. That's why I appreciate what Spin Master is doing with the new Air Hogs Supernova. I've covered Spin Master products in the past, and usually come away impressed - this time is no different. Spin Master sent over the Air Hogs Supernova for me to test out, and it actually took away some of my uneasiness about using more expensive drones that I’ve acquired in the past.

The Supernova is Spin Master's first motion-controlled drone. Don't expect it to be as feature-rich as the DJI Mavic Air, but do expect to be able to pull off some pretty impressive tricks with hardware that's responsive and kid-friendly to boot.

Amazon is trying to get its Alexa voice assistant into as many homes as possible. Its latest offering: The Fire TV Cube, which essentially turns any TV into a smart TV with Alexa voice control. We try it out live on this episode. The integration with certain apps, like Netflix and Hulu, is pretty cool. Simply saying "Alexa, play Stranger Things," opened the Netflix app and started playing right where we left off. Using voice control to fast forward, switch TV inputs and open apps also works well. But for other apps that aren't integrated, like Sling TV, the experience isn't quite so smooth. The box also doesn't work with over-the-air cable TV, as some reports said it would. In other news, Oculus announced a new virtual reality TV app this week, and some people are unimpressed. We also dive into a report that points to a new line of AirPods coming before the end of the year, including higher-end over-the-ear headphones.

Listen to the episode in the player below or subscribe to Geared Up in your favorite podcast app to listen on the go: